Dean Thomas' story
by MartyMcFlyJr
Summary: a young boy, used to a life of fame and fortune, needs to readjust himself to fit the profile of a regular, unknown child.
1. Chapter 1

Dean Thomas, sixteen year old lad, was shoveling snow with his little brother Nat. Nat's hands were red and stiff with cold, and they felt like they were stuck to the shovel; that if anyone took the shovel away from him, the skin on his palms would rip

"Why can't you just magic the snow away?" complained Nat, "What's the point of having a magician in the house if you won't do magic?"

"You don't say 'magician', you're supposed to say 'wizard', and I am not allowed to do magic until I'm seventeen. You know that already, so stop complaining." Said Dean, "and not only that, I am _never_ allowed to do magic in front of a Muggle, and _you_ are a Muggle."

Dean enjoyed teasing his younger brothers and sisters. Particularly Nat who was six years his junior. ever since he started at Hogwarts, five years ago, he became a phenomena between his brothers and sisters.

Dean Tomas was a very famous actor in the Muggle world, and so were his siblings. Both his mother and stepfather worked in an independent film production that became so famous for its excellent films, it was bigger than Hollywood.

When Dean was only two years old, his stepfather (who was just recently wed to his mother) needed an actor for one of the movies he was producing at the time, and Dean fit the requirements for that child actor.

Five years later, Dean was the number one child actor in the world. He already stared in thirty different movies, and was the only child pop star who's albums were on the number one selling list every time they got released.

By the time Dean was eleven years old, there wasn't a child in the universe who didn't know his name, and half of mankind was able to name every movie he stared in, and sing every song he produced.

Dean, himself, was a spoiled brat of a child who has never heard the word 'no'. He was accustomed to people jumping to his every request; every whim. Everyone gave him everything he wanted, and more. He wanted a bike, he got a car. He wanted a trip to the zoo, he was taken to the safari. He wanted to go to the amusement park, they took him to Disneyland. Dean once read a book about a boy who built himself a club-house by the lake, and wanted one too, his publisher bought him a mansion in Martha's Vineyard.

His parents, aunts, uncles, and grandparents adored him. His brothers and sisters were awed by him.

When the time came for dean to decide which secondary school he was going to attend, he had a tantrum for five days just because his mother suggested that he go to a lower profile school.

And then came the letter from Hogwarts

At first, when it came in the regular mail, it was discarded together with all of his fan mail. The next day, the head of the team who managed their mail was shown three of the same envelops. He tossed them all to the trash can, thinking how persistent some fans were with their mail. The day after that, the mail-handeling team was shocked that no more than one hundred envelops appeared to be from the same sender. Of-course, compared to the regular mail he received daily, this was no more than an extra garbage bag among a thousand others, and, again, the letters were discarded.

The next day, Dean had a visitor. It was the most stern-looking woman he ever saw, who was dressed in a strange hat and a robe, which, on her person, looked severe rather than facetious.

The visitor handed him the letter, and explained all about Hogwarts School of Wichcraft and Wizardry, and the world of magic. A world, he quickly learned, that knew nothing of the famous Dean Thomas. A world where he would be just another kid.

It took his mother a whole day to convince him that maybe it would be a good thing for him to start over. Maybe there were things he never learned, growing up as a celebrity. Wouldn't he like to try living a normal life, just for one year? If he hated it, he could always write, and his parents would come running to his rescue.

When Dean finally agreed, Professor McGonagall - as the stern looking woman introduced herself to be - told them that they were not allowed to tell anyone about Hogwarts, the magical world was suppsed to remain a secret from the Muggles. His parents had to tell the press that Dean needed a break from all the fame and was going to a regular secondary school somewhere far. It was very hard to convince most of the press that Dean Thomas can possibly find anywhere that he wasn't famous, but if that was the only explination his parents could give, they just had to accept it.


	2. Chapter 2

A week before the start of term Dean and his Muggle parents found themselves in dingy little inn called The Leaky Cauldron. Tom, the inn keeper, showed them how to get into Dagon Alley, where they were to buy all the supplies on the list they got from Hogwats.

Dean felt cluster-phobic in the narrow alleyway, where so many witches and wizards were shopping. The noise was deafening as kids of all shapes and sizes were weaving and squeezing up and down the ally, begging their parents to buy them this or that.

He passed a cluster of kids oohing and aahing some brooms in a shop window,

"What can possibly be so exciting about a broom," he muttered, agitated, "it's hard enough to walk through this narrow street without bumping into these overexcited kids looking at some silly broomsticks."

"Excuse me," Dean heard his step-dad saying to one of the weirdos wearing gowns, "excuse me, but do you know where I can find er- Gringotts? Gringotts Bank?"

"Sure, I was just on the way there. Do you care to join me?" the man answered rather politely.

Dean was impressed. Seeing the way the man was dressed, he expected to hear abracadabra, or jargon, not a deep voice with real answers.

"You seem to be new to Diagon Alley. Are you from another town, or are you a Muggle?"

"A Muggle?" asked Dean's stepfather.

"It's what we call non-magic people. So I assume you are not a wizard. Are you here for your child's school supplies, then?" The stranger asked.

"Yes, my son is starting at Hogwarts this year," he said placing his hand proudly on Dean's shoulder.

"First-year," said the man approvingly, "my son will start his first year too. What's your name?" he asked, but before Dean's parents had a chance to answer, The man was distracted by the Goblin who was greeting them at the entrance of the bank, and leading the strange man and his family to their vaults.

Before they could say a polite goodbye, another Goblin was leading them to the money-exchange booth, where they were to exchange their Muggle money to Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts.

When they were done exchanging their money, and after their archetypal stupor at the size of the wizard's money was calmed, they carried on with their shopping.

"Let's see," his mother said, scanning the list, "you will need Wizard's robes and a Wizard's hat, where might we get that?" she asked looking around.

They looked around at the shops, and Dean spotted a store-window with colorful robes,

"look ," he told his parents, "there is a sign 'Madam Milkin's robes for all occasions' at the end of this block."

They walked into the shop, and told the Madam that they needed a black robe. "And would you also have a hat, maybe?" asked his mum.

"Sure, why don't you look around, while I measure the young boy in the back?" and turning to Dean she said, kindly, "Go ahead, sweety, there's someone back there, already being measured."

When Dean reached the back of the store he saw that a squat lady was busy measuring a young boy approximately his own age.

The boy turned when he saw Dean and exclaimed, "hey, aren't you the boy who walked with us to the bank?"

Dean, who had eyes for no one, said, "could be."

"Hi, my name is Seamus, I am beginning my first year at Hogwarts, and you are too, aren't you? Both your parents are Muggles?"

"Yes, I guess so. Your parents are wizards?" asked Dean curiously.

"I'm half and half, but I grew up a wizard. Both my parents live in the wizard world. What's your name?"

Dean was slightly bewildered by Seamus' sociable attitude. People were usually blushing and stammering the first time they saw him. But when he asked what his name was, Dean was completely taken by surprise. _No_ _one_ has ever asked him such a question before! Everyone he ever met since babyhood just _knew_ that his name was Dean Thomas.

"You don't... you don't know my name?" he asked genuinely surprised.

Seamus looked at him for a moment, "should I?" he finally asked.

"My name is Dean Thomas!" said Dean with some ceremony, expecting, if not a dithering awe, then at least some respect.

Seamus merely kept looking at him, "nice to meet you," he said sarcastically.

Seamus' father suddenly appeared from behind the curtains, at the same time that Dean's stepfather walked in to the measuring room.

"Oh, hello," said Mr. Thomas, seeing the man that walked them to the bank, "I'm is Edward Thomas," he said, extending a hand, "what did you say your name was?"

"Michael Finnegan," said Seamus' father.

Dean tried not to laugh, as in his mind the song 'there was a man named Michael Finnegan...' suddenly played repetitively, but he couldn't help a snort of suppressed giggles.

Hearing it, Mr. Finnegan turned to Dean and stared. "This is your son, you say?" he asked Mr. Thomas slowly.

"Yes, why?" asked Mr. Thomas. Dean looked up expecting at least Seamus' dad to know who he is.

"You look a bit like Awce Abernathy," said Mr. Finnegan thoughtfully.

Dean was stunned. He has spent millions of dollars trying to find anyone who knew where Awce Abernathy was, but no one has ever saw or heard of him. Awce Abernathy was Dean's biological father, and he felt winded when he heard that name, just like that, suddenly and unexpectedly.

"You knew Awce Abernathy?" Dean asked, his heart pumping loudly.

"Of course. He was my friend, and a very gifted wizard. He was murdered ten years ago."

"Murdered?" Mrs. Thomas and Dean said together. (Mrs. Thomas arrived just in time to hear her first husband's name)

"He was my husband," said Mrs. Thomas faintly, "was he a wizard, then?"

Michael Finnegan invited the Thomas family for an ice-cream at Flourean's and they sat down to talk about Dean's father.

sorry, because now _I can't_ get this _song_ outa my _head..._

'there was a man named

Michael Finnegan

he grew wiskers

on his chinnegan

he cut them off

but they grew in again

poor old Michael

Finnegan,

begin again...'


	3. Chapter 3

"You knew Awce Abernathy?" Dean asked, his heart pumping loudly.

"Of course. He was my friend, and a very gifted wizard too. I'm sorry about his murder ten years ago."

"Murder?" Mrs. Thomas and Dean said together. (Mrs. Thomas arrived just in time to hear her first husband's name)

"He was my husband," said Mrs. Thomas faintly, "was he a wizard, then?"

Michael Finnegan invited the Thomas family for an ice-cream at Flourean's and they sat down to talk about Dean's father.

Dean discovered that his biological dad was a real hero. He had never really abandoned his wife and baby son, he just didn't want them to be involved in the horrors of the wizarding world at that time. Voldemort, the most evil wizard of all time, wanted Awce to become a Death Eater in his service. So he left his beloved Muggle family, trying to escape 'you-know-who' and was murdered before the year was over.

"what about now, though, where is, er- you-know-who now?" asked Dean's stepdad.

"No one knows, really. Some say he's dead; but most believe that he is still out there, but powerless."

"How?" asked Mrs. Thomas, "I mean to say, if he was so powerful, what happened to all of his power?

"Oh, _that_ everyone knows, the story doesn't make much sense; it's very unbelievable, but it's the truth.

"During the time that he killed your father, he was also looking to recruit another two wizards to his Death Eater ranks. Their names were James and Lily Potter; husband and wife. They were very powerful themselves - they were able to escape you-know-who three times! Not too many wizards can say they did _tha_t. Anyone who he wanted to kill had no chance.

"But one day, you-know-who went to their house, attacking the Potters for the fourth time, and he was successful in killing them, too. Maybe it was because they were new parents by then, and that made them a bit weaker, or maybe he really was much more powerful than them and they were just lucky to escape him in the past. I don't know because I never knew them personally.

"But after he who must not be named killed the couple, he tried to kill their baby, and that's when he disappeared. He couldn't kill that little baby."

Mr. And Mrs. Thomas were sitting very still, dazed by the story.

Dean, however, had a few questions, "how can anyone know that this is what really happened? Was anyone there to witness? And you say the baby was not killed. If so, where is he now? How do you know that he-who-must-not-be-named tried to kill the baby, maybe he was destroyed by killing those two wizards?"

"Well, first of all, you-know-who made himself very known when he was strong. Suddenly, he kills two very strong wizards, destroys their house, and disappears? Why? The only explanation could be that he lost his powers. And how we know that he tried to kill the baby, the baby has a scar on his forehead, right where you-know-who aimed his killing curse. No one has ever survived a curse like that. The boy is living by his relatives now, but he is the most famous boy that ever lived. There isn't a child who doesn't know Harry Potter!"

Dean chuckled derisively. Everyone turned to look at him.

"Famous, you say?" provoked Dean, "most famous that ever lived? Why then have I never heard of him?"

"You've never heard of you-know-who either, nor of anything in the wizarding world. You see, Muggles don't know anything about our world, and Wizards know nothing of the Muggle world." Seamus said, piping up.

Dean leaned back in his chair with a long sigh of realization. It finally made sense why noone heard of Dean Thomas in this strange world. Here he was nothing but a boy; nothing but a plain, ordinary, eleven-year-old boy. Nothing more. Here in the wizarding world, it was Harry Potter that everyone knew. Dean Thomas was nothing.


End file.
